The EU Referendum may be a somewhat distant memory but the effects of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union are still being felt across almost every sector of the economy including the housing market. The Brexit vote came at a time when the UK housing market was already unsteady, leading some experts to wonder if another crash was on its way.

We’re now a month on from the historic Referendum and as the dust settles, it’s fair to say the ‘leave’ vote doesn’t appear to have had the detrimental effect that was predicted. Pre vote, the whole country expected a leave result to signal the start of a recession and predictions were that house prices would plummet overnight. Although the number of house purchases immediately following the vote was below the levels seen in the same period last year (48,973 homes were sold in June 2016 compared with 54,454 June 2015[1]), the market appears to be holding relatively steady with regards to prices. In fact, the average house price actually increased by £747 in July[2]. Although this doesn’t seem like a huge amount, it has served to rebuff the gloomy forecasts both pre and immediately post Brexit about the turmoil to come in the housing market.

The decline in properties listed for sale during this period is also not a surprise. It’s understandable that people – particularly first time buyers – are reluctant to purchase homes at the moment. Homeowners, perhaps taking heed of the doomsayers and overall feeling that completion rates would drop, seem to have held off listing their property for sale.

It's not all bad news though. Despite mortgage lending declining in the run up to the vote, June figures suggest a recovery is already on its way. In June, 8,443 house purchase loans were approved – this figure in itself shows a significant drop from March’s year-high of 11,542 as people raced to beat the April stamp duty cut-off. Looking at the bigger picture things are brighter. In fact, the number of approved home loans was up by almost 2,000 in June, compared with May’s 6,491[3].

As for the future of the market, that remains to be seen. The full effect of the Referendum won’t be felt for a number of months as the industry collects data to compare with the previous years’ figures. We predict the market will remain steady for the time being, mirroring the stagnant effect the country is in. However once the government decides to trigger Article 50 and set the ball in motion, that could all change.

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/26/housing-market-growing-slowly-after-brexit-vote/

[2] http://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/average-uk-house-prices-inch-up-747-in-july-says-nationwide/#LIckfXvv5GWujrS7.97

[3] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/26/housing-market-growing-slowly-after-brexit-vote/